Expectation: A horror story of a high school swimmer turning into a bloodthirsty mermaid in an act of rage.
Reality: Aimless and boring, a few body gore sections weren’t enough to keep me interested before throwing in the towel.
All tagged sports
Evvie Drake Starts Over – Linda Holmes
Expectation: An inter-generational friendship between two unlikely people.
Reality: Age-appropriate romance versus friendship. The whole thing was predictable, but the darker edges made it feel unique. As someone who doesn’t usually read this genre, I liked it more than expected.
The Art of Fielding – Chad Harbach
Expectation: A “sports bro” book full of men suppressing emotions.
Reality: A contender for the modern “Great American Novel,” I was surprised by the depth of character development and the queer subplot.
The Winners – Fredrik Backman
Expectation: A crowd-pleasing finish to a beloved series.
Reality: Uneven, but ultimately satisfying, fans of the series shouldn’t skip this one as it is a closer cousin to the first novel than the second.
Carrie Soto Is Back – Taylor Jenkins Reid
Expectation: Another engrossing novel about a fictional character that feels like someone you’ve known about your whole life.
Reality: Shallow and repetitive but still entertaining, it is the least interesting story from the author.
The Swimmers – Julie Otsuka
Expectation: A dramedy about wanting to hold on to your younger days in the twilight years.
Reality: A unique style of storytelling somewhat masks the affecting exploration of mortality, memory and caring for aging parents.
Flashback Reviews: Beartown & Us Against You
A flashback book review from 2019, and perfect for Pride Month as the “Beartown” series by Frederik Backman features an amazing gay character, Benji Ovich, who is instantly relatable to those of us that participated in sports growing up.